Automatic off-line availability for document content linked in electronic mail messages

Abstract

A system for providing automatic off-line availability of shared document content linked in electronic mail (“email”) messages. Documents indicated by links in processed email messages may accessed when a client system user is working either online or offline. A software component operates to read through email messages sent to a client system user, and to locate messages including links to content stored on the server system. The software component accesses the content indicated by the links contained in the email messages, and moves the content onto the client system for offline access. The software component may include a periodically scheduled agent, and/or a component that is called just prior to the client system or email application going offline.

1. A method for providing offline access to content indicated by links contained in electronic mail messages, comprising:
 processing a set of electronic mail messages previously sent to a client system, wherein said processing includes examining said set of electronic mail messages to identify a subset of said electronic mail messages containing links indicating content, wherein said content is external to said electronic mail messages and stored on a server system, and wherein each electronic mail message in said identified subset of said electronic mail messages contains at least one link to said content stored on said server system; and 
 copying, responsive to said links contained in said identified subset of said electronic mail messages, said content stored on said server system to said client system. 
 
     
     
       2. The method of  claim 1 , wherein said links comprise uniform resource locators. 
     
     
       3. The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 detecting a predetermined operation on a document in a set of shared documents stored on said server system; 
 wherein said electronic mail messages comprise a notification message indicating that said predetermined operation has been performed on said document in said set of shared documents stored on said server system; and 
 wherein said content stored on said server system and copied to said client system comprises at least one document in said set of shared documents. 
 
     
     
       4. The method of  claim 1 , wherein said steps of processing and copying are performed by a software agent, wherein said software agent is triggered by an indication that said client system is going offline. 
     
     
       5. The method of  claim 1 , wherein said steps of processing and copying are performed by a software agent, wherein said software agent is triggered periodically. 
     
     
       6. The method of  claim 1 , wherein said steps of processing and copying are triggered by a request received from a user of said client computer system. 
     
     
       7. The method of  claim 6 , wherein said request includes indication of a preceding time period during which said electronic email messages to be processed were received. 
     
     
       8. The method of  claim 1 , wherein said copying comprises:
 determining a set of document types that can be processed on said client system; 
 determining a type of said content stored on said server system; and 
 in the event that said type of said content stored on said server system is not within said set of document types that can be processed on said client system, converting said content stored on said client system to a document type within said set of document types that can be processed on said client system. 
 
     
     
       9. The method of  claim 1 , wherein said copying comprises converting said content stored on said server system to HTML. 
     
     
       10. The method of  claim 1 , wherein said copying comprises sending said content stored on said server system to said client system as an attachment to a corresponding one of said electronic mail messages. 
     
     
       11. The method of  claim 1 , wherein said copying comprises sending said content stored on said server system to said client system in another electronic mail message independent of one of said electronic mail messages including said link to said content stored on said server system. 
     
     
       12. The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 in the event that said client system is offline, intercepting, in said client system, a content request including a link to content stored on said server system; and 
 accessing, in response to said intercepted content request including said link to said content stored on said server system, a local copy of said content stored on said server system, wherein said local copy was previously copied to said client system from said server system. 
 
     
     
       13. A system having a computer readable memory, said computer readable memory having a computer program for providing offline access to content indicated by links contained in electronic mail messages stored thereon, said computer program comprising:
 program code for processing a set of electronic mail messages previously sent to a client system, wherein said processing includes examining said set of electronic mail messages to identify a subset of said electronic mail messages containing links indicating content, wherein said content is external to said electronic mail messages and stored on a server system, and wherein each electronic mail messages in said identified subset of said electronic mail messages contains at least one link to said content stored on said server system; and 
 program code for copying, responsive to said links contained in said identified subset of said electronic mail messages, said content stored on said server system to said client system. 
 
     
     
       14. The system of  claim 13 , wherein said links comprise uniform resource locators. 
     
     
       15. The system of  claim 13 , said computer program further comprising:
 program code for detecting a predetermined operation on a document in a set of shared documents stored on said server system; 
 wherein said electronic mail messages comprise a notification message indicating that said predetermined operation has been performed on said document in said set of shared documents stored on said server system; and 
 wherein said content stored on said server system and copied to said client system comprises at least one document in said set of shared documents. 
 
     
     
       16. The system of  claim 13 , wherein program code for processing and program code for copying comprise a software agent, wherein said software agent is triggered by an indication that said client system is going offline. 
     
     
       17. The system of  claim 13 , wherein said program code for processing and program code for copying comprise a software agent, wherein said software agent is triggered periodically. 
     
     
       18. The system of  claim 13 , wherein said steps of processing and copying are triggered by a request received from a user of said client computer system. 
     
     
       19. The system of  claim 18 , wherein said request includes indication of a preceding time period during which said electronic email messages to be processed were received. 
     
     
       20. The system of  claim 13 , wherein said program code for copying comprises:
 program code for determining a set of document types that can be processed on said client system; 
 program code for determining a type of said content stored on said server system; and 
 program code for, in the event that said type of said content stored on said server system is not within said set of document types that can be processed on said client system, converting said content stored on said client system to a document type within said set of document types that can be processed on said client system. 
 
     
     
       21. The system of  claim 13 , wherein said program code for copying comprises program code for converting said content stored on said server system to HTML. 
     
     
       22. The system of  claim 13 , wherein said program code for copying comprises program code for sending said content stored on said server system to said client system as an attachment to a corresponding one of said electronic mail messages. 
     
     
       23. The system of  claim 13 , wherein said program code for copying comprises program code for sending said content stored on said server system to said client system in another electronic mail message independent of one of said electronic mail messages including said link to said content stored on said server system. 
     
     
       24. The system of  claim 13 , further comprising:
 program code for, in the event that said client system is offline, intercepting, in said client system, a content request including a link to content stored on said server system; and 
 program code for accessing, in response to said intercepted content request including said link to said content stored on said server system, a local copy of said content stored on said server system, wherein said local copy was previously copied to said client system from said server system. 
 
     
     
       25. A computer program product having a physical computer readable storage medium, said physical computer readable storage medium having a computer program for providing offline access to content indicated by links contained in electronic mail messages stored thereon, said computer program comprising:
 program code for processing a set of electronic mail messages previously sent to a client system, wherein said processing includes examining said set of electronic mail messages to identify a subset of said electronic mail messages containing links indicating content, wherein said content is external to said electronic mail messages and stored on a server system, and wherein each electronic mail message in said identified subset of said electronic mail messages contains at least one link to said content stored on said server system; and 
 program code for copying, responsive to said links contained in said identified subset of said electronic mail messages, said content stored on said server system to said client system. 
 
     
     
       26. A method for providing offline access to content indicated by links contained in electronic mail messages, comprising:
 processing a set of electronic mail messages previously sent to a client system, wherein said processing includes examining said set of electronic mail messages to identify a subset of said electronic mail messages containing links indicating content, wherein said content is external to said electronic mail messages and stored on a server system, and wherein each electronic mail message in said identified subset of said electronic mail messages contains at least one link to said content stored on said server system; 
 copying, responsive to said links contained in said identified subset of said electronic mail messages, said content stored on said server system to said client system; 
 in the event that said client system is offline, intercepting, in said client system, a content request including a link to content stored on said server system; and 
 accessing, in response to said intercepted content request including said link to said content stored on said server system, a local copy of said content stored on said server system, wherein said local copy was previously copied to said client system from said server system.